Chain restaurants large and small across the country introduced thousands of menu items over the past year. Some concepts, like Red Robin and IHOP, reworked their whole menus, while others, like McDonald’s and Krystal, focused on upgrading their core items.
Chick-fil-A and Taco Bell, among others, tested line extensions, and Wayback Burgers used its menu as a platform to comment on the media.
Tender Greens developed an item based on the “Blue Zone” diet, Emmy Squared introduced vegan cheese, and Velvet Taco, along with the 52 Weekly Taco Features that it offered, also introduced special items for college students at restaurants near universities.
Panda Express used its Innovation Kitchen in Pasadena, Calif., to flex different culinary muscles, Burger King offered a tie-in with a Spiderman film, Chuck E. Cheese did a cross-promotion with LankyBox.
Sprinkles developed a special cupcake for the Hindu holiday Diwali, Quiznos started using kimchi, and Fogo de Chão began offering pork.
Read on to see some of the other highlights of menu innovation over the past year.Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]